Day of Night
by BewilderedLoca
Summary: AU. Starts 1 year after IY:FA. Instead of seeking fear, she found solace and consolation as she went through the names written in each stone. All were the names of people she knew and people who helped raised her and her brother when they were younger.


Souten contently hummed to herself as she folded her _chiyogami_ into small triangles from in her limited stash, at nearby a small stream. She sat under a shy cherry blossom tree that was too scared to let it's branches bloom their prepubescent buds. It was nestled across from its twin that was to also shy but Souten wasn't one to rush the flora's metamorphosis. Deciding it was time to take a small break; Souten placed down her almost complete origami and cracked her dainty knuckles.

With one tossed look around, the Thunder valley had finally seemed to get it's color back. Green grass grew over the balding dirt spots, numerous amounts of colorful flowers bloomed and she was even lucky enough to have grown a mango and peach tree at the entrance of the courtyard. For once in her life, she can proudly look out her window and have a rejuvenating pleasant sight to look at instead of a grim barren wasted county that was once the Thunder valley. A small smile tugged at her lips as she pulled herself up; picking up her origami paper crane on the way and made her way over to the small shrine that was dedicated to her deceased loved ones and outside were a small alignment of small stones with names carved on it.

When Souten was younger girl, she remembered being scared of the cemetery, let alone go or visit. Worried the Dead would come back to life and eat her alive like her older brother Hiten said they would whenever she'd act bratty or immature about going to the cemetery. Instead of seeking fear, she found solace and consolation as she went through the names written in each stone. All were the names of people she knew and people who helped raised her and her brother when they were younger. The Thunder demons who resided in their valley were painted an ugly picture of savage, blood-thirst demons who lacked culture when in fact she remembered a story her father told her once when their civilization started.

She remembered he told her how they had many unique festivities and celebrations with large amounts of food, various dances and games for everyone being taken place; very much like the humans had if not only _better_.

Souten began to feel her eyes laden with tears at the sudden thought of her flashbacks. She wasn't old enough to experience them all but when she heard Hiten talk about it or Manten bring it up, it'd make her happy and feel a part of their memories. She wiped her eyes quickly and took a deep breath before stopping in front of a small shrine that was dedicated to her parents and also to her brothers, which was heavily decorated with paper cranes she made through the years of her existence.

And yes, it was her that found them, in the front of their desecrated courtyard, all bloodied and severely torn in half. She bawled her eyes out before she knew it was them and being she was the only one that remained, she was the one who _had_ to carry them back home and give them a proper burial.

It wasn't new for her but it really hurt her nonetheless.

Wasn't until a few years later, Shippou and his family came for a random visit and right around when she began to accept the fact she was the only survivor left, only to find out Inu-Yasha was the one who destroyed and killed them. They, were of course shocked and didn't think they had any existing family but Souten surely gave him a piece of her mind _verbally_ if anything.

It was questioned later on, weeks after the confrontation as to why she hadn't attack and went on a killing spree on the local nearby villages. She was sure of this because she remembered it like it was yesterday.

* * *

_"Souten?" Kagome called as she began searching for the fourteen year old girl. "Souten are you here? Answer if you do…" she meekly called out once again. She cautiously entered the house, fearful for the girl attacking her when she least expected it. She looked in the kitchen, her rooms and in the sitting room but no sign of the girl. She gave up hope and considered she went out hunting, so she turned her heel to leave but stopped when she heard a faint humming._

_She followed it out and came into the backyard to finally find Souten sitting under a young peach tree, contently braiding one side of her hair before tying it up into two oriental buns. Once she finished, she straightened a fold on her mandarin-colored kimono, looked up and contently smiled. Kagome found it simply amazing for someone her age to become so suddenly majestic and poised. Considering her heritage and who she was raised with. "Souten?"_

_"Yes Kagome?" she gently spoke, her voice still in the bordering barrier on whether or not how soon her child-like voice should flee or mature._

_"I just… I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you were fine…after last week." Kagome started as she immediately looked down at her slowly swollen tummy. She was expecting a daughter in four months and always considered Souten and Rin to be "practice daughters"._

_"Oh…that. I'm fine, Kagome. You don't have to worry about me anymore, I can take care of myself now." Souten reminded. "Besides I'm not like some lost little girl anymore, I have responsibilities now."_

_Kagome nodded and took a deep breath, "I just want you to know… we never intended on doing this to you or hurt you. Had we known we could've prevented…the worse from happening." She started confidant but ended in a soft whisper once she she saw Souten's content façade pass over._

_"It would've ended badly either way… I know how my brother is and he wouldn't have accepted anything you guys had to offer. Things happened for a reason and it's fine. You don't have to apologize to me anymore." Souten ended, after composing herself once again. Kagome blinked and nodded as she subconsciously rubbed her growing belly._

_There was a small pregnant pause until Kagome paraphrased what she meant to ask her, on her way here to the Thunder Valley. "Souten…mind if I ask you a question?"_

_The fourteen year old nodded and shifted so her body faced her. "What is it?"_

_"After all this time… why haven't you violently acted out on Inu-Yasha once you found out it was him who killed your brothers?" She bit her bottom lip, hoping she wasn't treading on thin ice._

_Souten looked away for a brief second and remained her focus on the youthful river. "Honestly… I've asked myself that more than once every day. I guess my definite answer would have to be seeing the way my brother live their life wasn't the exact way I wanted to live mines. It may not have been shown but I could also tell the life they lived, wasn't the one they wanted me to live as well…" she chuckled, "Guess it finally explains why I wasn't allowed to play in the mud with them or go hunting with them."_

_"So I see then." Kagome nodded in affirmative. "In a way they shielded you from the negativities they had to endure day by day?" she asked as Souten nodded to this._

_"One thing I always wanted to do is restore the Thunder Valley and make sure it lives up to the stories my father once told my brothers and me. Now I finally can, flowers are starting to bloom and I'm getting more forest friendlier creatures once again… the valley before was a grim reminder but now I have the chance to redeem and turn us around again this time for a positive change… It's the only thing left I can do for them now." Souten smiled again as she looked over at Kagome who also returned the gesture back. _

* * *

She smiled and felt proud of herself for making good of the Thunder Brother's wrecked reputation. Least now, all those negative voices were silenced and now Souten would often get visitors; friendly villagers asking and concerned for her, to keep her and her pet dragon, Kohryu, company.

Pulling a piece of thread out of her pocket, she knotted the one-thousand paper crane she made and tied it over the ceiling of the shrine.

One of the many stories she remembered her father telling her were about a young girl who made one thousand paper cranes in order to save herself from impending death. It enabled the maker to grant one pure wish and today marked the last day Souten completed this task.

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, thinking up of only one wish she wanted more than anything in the world.

To see her family and fellow thunder demons safe, once again in the afterlife.

**A/N: I always wanted to do a Souten fic for the longest and I'm actually glad I got too! And I also wanted to paint a picture of the Thunder Demons being a group of people who had interesting cultural difference compared to what we know about the Wolves and Bat Demon...people-ish. **

**And yes, I referenced the historical figure named Sadako, who indeed was an actual girl who was afflicted with leukemia by the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima. She was only 12 years old and only got to complete 644 paper cranes before she died in the morning of October 25, 1955. I'm surpised I even remember that much _ Anyway, I can only hope you enjoyed this, so if you can please review!**

_Chiyogami; Brightly colored paper. In the olden days were made from wood block printing._


End file.
